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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 13.51%
Worth A Look: 18.24%
Average: 13.51%
Pretty Bad: 31.08%
Total Crap: 23.65%
6 reviews, 112 user ratings
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| King Arthur |
by Brian McKay
"It's no EXCALIBUR, but it's no FIRST KNIGHT either."
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KING ARTHUR deserves a modicum of respect for attempting to impart some historical accuracy without the trappings of wizardry and magic swords. But while it feels more genuine in its stripped-down Romanesque environs, only those who failed their history classes would ever believe that this is the TRUE origins of King Arthur. What it is, however, is a fairly entertaining romp with a solid cast and some good (if, at times, tactically flawed) action sequencesForget all you know about the traditional mysticism surrounding Arthur and his Knights - that is the key to enjoying King Arthur. Things are not going to play out like they do in all of the standard retellings - and in a way, that's pretty damn refreshing. There's a tale worth being told at the heart of King Arthur, with the only drawbacks coming in the form of some questionable tactics and some really big plot contrivances.
It is the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire. Besieged by barbarian invaders on all sides, the empire is withdrawing its troops from all outposts it deems as "indefensible" - including the isle of Britannia. This leaves only the commander Arturius (Clive Owen) and his conscripted, yet faithful, Sarmatian knights to carry out a last-ditch rescue effort - to retrieve the Pope's godson from the path of a ravaging Saxon horde. Why a family so favored by the Pope would be living in the godforsaken and enemy-infested lands north of Hadrian's wall is just one of the annoying gaps of logic in the film's script, but we'll just have to put it aside for now. Promised their freedom from service in the Roman army if they carry out this last mission, the noble Arthur and his men ride into perilous country to rescue the papal youth and his family - only to find that the lad's father is a cruel son of a bitch to his serfs, and that the Saxons are breathing down their necks. This culminates in Arthur and his men buying the fleeing peasants some time by taking on a large Saxon force on the surface of a frozen lake. While it's a very cool battle scene visually, one has to wonder - wouldn't they have been smarter to climb up onto the nearby rocks and engage their attackers from there? I wouldn't be so keen to hack at the ice with a battle axe if my buddies behind me were left just as vulnerable as the enemy in front of me. Such is the beginning of the film's flawed portrayal of medieval tactics.
Nevertheless, the fight scenes themselves are competently arranged, delivering maximum satiation for the viewer's bloodlust without having to be particularly bloody (PG-13, don't ya know). And if this film has a saving grace besides the impressive visuals, it's the winning supporting cast. Although Keira Knightley's "Guinevere, half-naked Warrior Queen" seems like something much more out of a fanciful Robert E. Howard pulp novel than historical fact, the chemistry and comraderie between Arthur and his men is charming and convincing, despite plenty of anachronistic flourishes in the dialogue. And while Clive Owen has been accused of being dull or wooden in the role of Arthur, I found his portrayal to be subdued yet full of strength and earnest. The more subtle nature of his character is a fine contrast to the more boisterous ways in which his best friend Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) and his other knights carry on. The bond between Arthur and his men feels sincere, and that covers a multitude of tactical and historical discrepancies as they charge into battle.The truth of the matter is that the true origins of Arthur will never fully be known. Historians and archeologists may speculate, and they may sometimes be right - but the fact of the matter is that this particular period of history is far too murky to ever reveal any clear-cut and satisfying answers about who the "real" King Arthur was. Nevertheless, KING ARTHUR makes a more valiant attempt than most, delivering a worthwhile action-drama that is just grounded enough in real history to be intriguing.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10197&reviewer=258
originally posted: 07/13/04 13:23:45
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USA
07-Jul-2004 (PG-13)
DVD: 21-Dec-2004
UK
N/A
Australia
15-Jul-2004 (M)
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